South Carolina recently implemented a new initiative to improve the quality of pre- kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in primary schools. This article describes the initiative and examines evidence that such an effort can have a positive effect on early childhood program quality. Data from both classroom observations using the ECERS-R…

This paper provides the opportunity to understand children's behavior from a memory viewpoint. For the last three decades, cognitive developmentalists have been asking the question, "what develops in children's memory?" Four answers to this question are presented, complete with explanations, examples, and possible applications where appropriate.…

The purpose of this article was to illuminate for early childhood teacher practitioners how guided reading, as a research-based approach to reading instruction, could address the challenges of early reading instruction. The early years are the focus for the prevention of reading difficulties and research conducted over the past two decades has…

Many early childhood teachers report lacking confidence to teach science. Today, science education is defined as "doing science", as opposed to memorization of facts (Seefeldt & Galper, 2002). This paper discusses developmentally appropriate practices in the context of teaching science. Knowledge of child development, individual differences and…

This study aimed to investigate the explanations of 80 kindergarten children on pictorial humor. The children were asked to observe and describe a specific visual stimulus, and say whether they considered it as funny providing their rationale. The study was developed on the basis of humor being an incongruity thus the data were examined against…

The 18 preschool teachers in the study tended to agree that preschool education for 4-year-olds should foremost be fun and engaging, not stressful. Teachers should develop curricula based on children's interests and everyday lives, and allow children to choose their activities and to direct their own play and exploration at their own pace. The…

While a growing number of diverse children are entering U.S. schools, misconceptions remain regarding language acquisition. Analysis of weekly interactions in an urban children's playgroup in the South reveals how the concept of language diversity as a deficit is still widespread. Mothers of young children still believed that efforts to learn…

Using content and archival analysis as a mixed method research design, this study addresses the broad issue of self-regulation since this subject area first appeared in the developmental psychology journals, addressing the question of whether each historical period had its own particular perspective on self-regulation, or was there, in fact, a …

Increasing numbers of refugee children are entering our public schools. In addition to carrying with them memories of untold trauma, they bring with them many special needs. This article explores these needs and ideas for assisting teachers in making our classrooms more responsive to our refugee children.

Hurricane Katrina exposed to the world the side of America that is often ignored or forgotten--the side of America where people live in poverty and struggle to meet their most basic needs. This article focuses primarily on children in Mississippi and highlights the effect that poverty has on children's well-being at an early age and future…

This study examined the functions that student talk served during partner reading events in a second grade classroom. Five major themes of talk emerged from the data including organizational, disputational, word strategy, meaning making and personal talk. All of these types of talk functioned to support partner reading except for personal talk,…

This paper reports a study on classroom organization, carried out in 2000 in kindergartens in Hong Kong. The findings contribute to understandings of current cross-cultural studies on classroom organization. Half-day session classroom observations of nine kindergarten teachers from three schools in Hong Kong were carried out. Data sources included…

The increasing emphasis on accountability in early care and education has created an opportunity for programs to revisit their child assessment practices. This article presents a model for using authentic assessment practices to document children's progress toward a set of program standards, specifically the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, as…

This article explores the effects of participation during kindergarten in "Zippy's Friends," a 24-week school-based programme to help young people better cope with everyday adversities, on their adaptation to first grade. The experimental group consisted of 140 children in the first year of primary school who had participated in the "Zippy's…

Well-chosen and wisely shared literature facilitates transitions and builds bridges in the lives of young children. Literature links are discussed and books are reviewed for infant, toddler, preschool, and primary age children and transitional readers.